Foodborne disease: towards reducing foodborne illness in Australia

Abstract

Technical Report Series No. 2

ISBN 0 642 36743 4

This document emphasises the pivotal roles that surveillance and outbreak control systems play in controlling foodborne diseases and in generating valuable information on their incidence,causes and impact. A strategy for the reduction of foodborne disease in Australia is presentedin Chapter 3. This strategy provides an approach by which surveillance and knowledge of foodborne illness can be improved in Australia. Through improved surveillance systems the true extent of the problem can be better defined, and sources of significant foodborne pathogens identified. This in turn will enable public health authorities to act more promptly in outbreak situations, enable policy makers to focus policy and funding on areas of essential need, and assist food industry sectors to identify the key factors and processes for targeting future quality control systems.